TUESDAY, 9:34am: The 49ers will release Rogers with the post-June 1st designation, freeing up more cap space for 2014, tweets Matt Barrows of The Sacramento Bee.
MONDAY, 3:34pm: Cornerback Carlos Rogers will no longer represent the largest cap hit on the 49ers’ books for 2014, as the team has decided to release him, allowing him to test the market, reports Josina Anderson of ESPN.com (via Twitter).
Rogers started all 16 regular season games for the 49ers in 2013, recording 49 tackles, two interceptions, and eight passes defended. However, the 32-year-old ranked just 71st out of 110 qualified corners, according to Pro Football Focus’ advanced metrics (subscription required). His performance and age, combined with an $8.09MM cap number, made his return to San Francisco unlikely unless he accepted a pay cut. By cutting Rogers, the Niners will create more than $5MM in cap savings, as the defensive back’s salary will still count for nearly $3MM in dead money on the 2014 cap.
For the Niners, Tramaine Brock looks poised to take over one of the top two cornerback jobs. However, San Francisco may be in the market for a new corner at the other spot, with Tarell Brown eligible for free agency.